LOS ANGELES — R.K.C., a 15-year-old plaintiff from Florida, dropped his lawsuit against Meta. The legal action claimed that social media use caused addiction and harm to the teenager.

R.K.C. received no payment from Meta for dropping the claims. This outcome followed previous settlements of identical claims against TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat. Snap reached a tentative settlement with R.K.C. shortly before Meta resolved the dispute.

A Meta spokesperson addressed the dismissal of the case. "The claims never held up, and this outcome makes clear that we will not back away from defending ourselves against baseless lawsuits," the spokesperson said.

Emily Jeffcott and Rahul Ravipudi, attorneys for R.K.C., provided context for the decision to withdraw. "He came into this process wanting to hold social media companies accountable and push for changes to protect young people like himself," they said. "He did that." The attorneys further explained the rationale behind ending the litigation against Meta.

"In light of the overall successful result of the litigation and his concerns about enduring a grueling weeks-long trial, he has elected to withdraw his claims against Meta," they stated. "He’s ready to close this chapter and focus on his recovery and engage in therapy as he aspires to have a normal life."

The lawsuit alleged that specific design features drove compulsive use. R.K.C. claimed that infinite scroll and autoplay functionalities contributed to addiction. He argued that social media use caused him anxiety and sleep deprivation.

Court filings stated that he started using social media at age 8 and suffered from depression, anxiety, and sleep loss. Deposition testimony included in court records stated he experienced anxiety and sleep deprivation due to compulsive checking of Meta notifications.

Meta intended to challenge the plaintiff's usage data in court. The company planned to argue that R.K.C. used Facebook and Instagram for only minutes per day on average. Meta also intended to claim that most accounts were created after hiring a lawyer.

Regarding other platforms, R.K.C. alleged in court filings that he used TikTok for an average of 16 minutes per day, though ByteDance disputed this claim. He also submitted evidence challenging Snap's claim that he used Snapchat for less than four minutes over two days in 2022. This evidence included testimony from his father that he would have taken steps to limit his son's usage if warned about risks.

The case is part of a broader legal landscape involving social media companies. Thousands of lawsuits across the U.S. accuse Meta and other platforms of harming young children. The Los Angeles Superior Court is overseeing hundreds of similar lawsuits against these companies.

In March 2026, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a plaintiff's mental health. The jury ordered the companies to pay $6 million in damages. The plaintiff in that case was known as K.G.M. or Kaley. Meta and YouTube have appealed the $6 million verdict from the March 2026 Los Angeles trial. In a separate case, Meta was ordered to pay $375 million in New Mexico for allegedly misleading users about the safety of its platforms for children.